Why spend time on experiments in Google Analytics?
What is an experiment?
An experiment on Google Analytics is a powerful tool to give insight into the most effective page to have on your site. With experiments you can test up to 10 different variations of a landin page for users. Meaning different users will be served up different content on landing pages when they click on your site.
Why would you want to have different landing pages?
Having different pages allows you to see which layout, or promotion, or wording is hitting your goal more with your users. When you create an experiment you will have to create a goal, something that is measured by GA when users are on the page. The goal could be conversions, a click on a button, an email sign up – whatever it may be it track that in the experiment so you can compare which one is doing the best with users.
What else should I know?
Experiments run for up to three months but can be stopped whenever you chose. If an experiment is underperforming and not reaching many goals you can stop it. However if you pull a variant page out if the user has already seen that landing page they will see it again if they come back to the site. Also keep in mind when creating variants not to change too many aspect of the page because you may not be able to know what really is affecting users decisions to meet the goals you set.
For more information about testing and some examples of what it could look like read A Guide to A/B Testing with Google Optimize